Full Name :Alberto Gilardino Date Of Birth:July 5, 1982 (age 27) Place of Birth:Biella, Piemonte, Italy Height:1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Position:Striker Current Club:A.C. Milan National Debut:2004 Caps:39 (16)
Alberto Gilardino, (born July 5, 1982 in Biella, Piemonte) is a World Cup-winning footballer who plays as striker for A.C. Milan and the Italian national team.
Club career Early years
"Gila" started his career at Piacenza Calcio, playing his first match in Serie A against A.C. Milan, That season he made 17 league appearances and scored 3 goals.
He was sold to Hellas Verona in 2001, scoring only five goals in his two seasons at the club where he made 39 league appearances.
Parma
His career was launched on the international stage in 2002, after he transferred to Parma F.C. on the explicit request of former Verona coach Cesare Prandelli. Gilardino scored five goals in his first season, and netted 23 times in his second season, that total in the 2003-04 campaign, made him the second-most prolific Serie A scorer. The success in club level and U21 level, made him earn a contract extension until June 2007. He repeated this feat in 2004-05, scoring another 23 goals and finishing as the second-best scorer in Serie A once again. He scored 50 goals for Parma in only 96 appearances in Serie A.
Milan
He made an estimated €24m transfer to AC Milan on 17 July 2005. Though he scored seventeen domestic goals for Milan, he failed to find his offensive form in Milan's 2005-06 Champions League campaign, going goalless in all twelve matches. Gilardino's European offensive output the next season was equally disappointing, with only two goals. One of his two goals, though, helped Milan seal a decisive 3-0 win over Manchester United in the second leg of the semifinals on May 3, 2007, which put them back into the CL final and set up a rematch with Liverpool F.C.. He played only two minutes as a substitute for Filippo Inzaghi in Milan's 2-1 victory. Gilardino led Milan in '06-07 Serie A scoring with twelve goals; no other Milan player hit double figures. Fiorentina
On May 25, 2008, Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino confirmed that a deal to sign Gilardino from Milan had been completed. On May 28, 2008, the deal was confirmed; Gilardino moved for €15 million and signed a five-year deal. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli previously guided Gilardino when the pair were with Parma. His first goal with the viola shirt arrived in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League 2008–09 against Slavia Prague, where he scored the second goal of the match. On August 31, Gilardino scored on his Serie A debut against Juventus in the 89th minute to tie the game at 1–1. In the successive league match he supplied an assist to Adrian Mutu to open the score in the match against S.S.C. Napoli, but Fiorentina still finished on the losing side, by suffering a 1–2 defeat at the Stadio San Paolo. In the first match from the Champions League group stages against the French of Olympique Lyonnais, he scored two goals in the first half to give Fiorentina a two-goal cushion, only to be cancelled by two second-half goals from Piquionne and Benzema.
International career
Gilardino played with Italy in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, winning the bronze medal. He also led Italy's Under 21 team to victory in the 2004 European Under-21 Football Championship.
He was a member of the Italy squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played in the first two matches, scoring a goal against the United States with a diving header, then coming on as a substitute in the semifinal match against Germany, hitting the post in extra time and providing the pass for Alessandro Del Piero's stoppage-time goal that sealed the Azzurri's 2-0 victory.
On October 17, 2007, Gilardino assumed the team captaincy for the first time in his international career after Daniele De Rossi was substituted during Italy's 2-0 friendly win over South Africa. He returned to the national team on the 20th August, 2008 and scored the first of Italy's two goals in an international friendly against Austria which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Honours Club A.C. Milan
UEFA Champions League: 2006-07
UEFA Super Cup: 2007
Club World Cup: 2007 Italy National Team
UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2004
FIFA World Cup: 2006 Individual
Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2005
Italian Footballer of the Year: 2005
Serie A Young Footballer of the Year: 2004
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